A statue installed in a private garden in South Korea showing a man bowing to a sitting girl is stirring controversy both in Seoul and Tokyo, for its potential to further aggravate already fragile bilateral relations. The installation work, entitled “Eternal Atonement,” has been erected on the grounds of the privately run Korea Botanic Garden in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province.  The two-piece bronze sculpture features a man in a formal suit bowing on his knees in front of a sea

Foreign Affairs July 28, 2020

Over 30,000 North Korean defectors risked their lives to cross one of the world’s most heavily fortified borders and settle in South Korea, escaping their communist homeland. 　 Yet not all of them seem satisfied with their new lives in the more prosperous, democratic South. And some even decide to go back to the place they once fled. The latest was a 24-year-old man who swam across the border to return to the North after defecting here three years ago. 　 The man, identified only by the

North Korea July 28, 2020

The man who North Korea claimed returned across the border with coronavirus symptoms after defecting to the South three years ago appears to have crossed by swimming after going through a drainage ditch to escape guards, military officials in Seoul said Monday. 　 The South Korean authorities spotted a specific location on the island of Gangwhado, where a bag believed to belong to him was found, said Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Kim Jun-rak. 　 The 24-year-old man, identified by the surna

North Korea July 27, 2020

President Moon Jae-in on Monday appointed Lee In-young, a four-term ruling party lawmaker, as the new unification minister in charge of inter-Korean relations, according to Cheong Wa Dae. 　 Lee immediately began his term the same day, following Moon‘s appointment. 　 Lee was nominated for the post early this month to succeed the former minister, Kim Yeon-chul, who resigned last month over frayed inter-Korean relations. 　 “I will put all my efforts for the Unification Ministry to ta

North Korea July 27, 2020

Two South Korean military planes carrying 293 Korean nationals from Iraq arrived back home Friday morning, amid the severe novel coronavirus outbreak in the Middle Eastern country. 　 Departing from Baghdad, two KC-330s planes arrived at Incheon Airport at around 10:20 a.m., two hours later than the scheduled arrival time due to quarantine procedures and fueling, according to a Defense Ministry official. Of the passengers, 86 said they had COVID-19 symptoms. 　 Health authorities said those con

Foreign Affairs July 24, 2020

A UN investigator on North Korea said it will request a detailed explanation from the South Korean government for its decision to inspect defector-led activist groups. 　 Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, voiced concern and expressed discontentment over Seoul’s recent actions against the North Korea-focused human rights groups, in an interview with Radio Free Asia and Voice of America on Wednesday (local time). He stressed that while all countr

North Korea July 22, 2020

North Korea is set to hold a national conference of war veterans for the first time in two years, to mark the 67th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, state media reported on Wednesday. 　 The Korean War ended in an armistice on July 27, 1953, and was never replaced with a formal peace treaty, leaving the two sides technically at war. The North officially refers to the war as the Fatherland Liberation War and claims victory. 　 The Korea Central News Agency reported the sixth national con

North Korea July 22, 2020

Unification Minister nominee Lee In-young on Tuesday proposed small-scale trade, or bartering, between the two Koreas as a way to break the inter-Korean impasse and work around the international sanctions imposed on Pyongyang. 　 Resorting to the barter system is one of Lee’s “new and creative” solutions to rekindle stalled relations with Pyongyang under the current sanctions regime, which bans the transfer of “bulk cash” into North Korea. 　  “I hope t

North Korea July 21, 2020

Unification Minister nominee Lee In-young condemned the demolition of the joint liaison office by North Korea last month as “irrational,” but said it would be difficult to seek compensation from Pyongyang, a document showed Monday. 　 “The North’s demolition of the joint liaison office is against the Panmunjom Declaration and the agreement for the operation of the liaison office,” he said in a written answer submitted to the Assembly ahead of his confirmation heari

North Korea July 20, 2020

Reports over the weekend of the US weighing a possible troop reduction in South Korea put officials here on edge again. A Seoul official, however, tried to play down the media speculation, saying adjusting the US’ military presence here has not been discussed. 　 　 “There has been no discussion between the two countries regarding the reduction of the US forces here, nor a notification from the US,” a Defense Ministry official told The Korea Herald, declining to comment fu

Defense July 19, 2020

The South Korean government’s crackdown on nonprofit groups led by North Korean defectors for sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border has met with a severe backlash from human rights advocates. 　 Thor Halvorssen, president of the Human Rights Foundation, a New York-based organization that promotes human rights and freedom, said Seoul’s decision to revoke operation license and seek prosecution of the defector groups is a violation of freedom of speech and expression, in a

North Korea July 16, 2020

North Korea has started to promote its now-shuttered tourism project to Kumgangsan, appearing to invite foreign tourists back to the reclusive regime soon after shutting its borders amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 　 Pyongyang temporarily barred foreign tourists to the mountain resort on its east coast when it closed its borders in late January, as the virus spread in neighboring China and South Korea. The shutdown has crippled the North’s economy even more as trade and tourism were a key sou

North Korea July 15, 2020

South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee is a woman of many firsts. In the 70-year history of the Trade Ministry, she is the first woman to attain the top position. This is after climbing the ladder within the agency, led mostly by men. This year the 53-year-old minister has set her sights on yet another milestone: becoming the first woman and the first Korean to lead the World Trade Organization. 　 Currently in Geneva to attend the WTO’s General Council meeting, slated to start Wednesda

Foreign Affairs July 14, 2020

Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s influential younger sister, on Friday ruled out the possibility of holding another US-North Korea summit this year, saying it is “useless” for Pyongyang and would only benefit Washington, according to state media.  “This is my personal opinion but summit between the US and North Korea will not take place this year,” said Kim to the state-run Korea Central News Agency.  She said another summit is “unne

North Korea July 10, 2020

US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun on Thursday stressed the importance of resuming talks with North Korea and vowed to work with South Korea to this end, during his meeting with Suh Hoon, the newly appointed top security adviser to President Moon Jae-in. 　 The two met at Cheong Wa Dae in the morning, on the last day of Biegun’s three-day visit here. During an hourlong meeting, Biegun, who doubles as Washington’s top nuclear envoy, and Suh talked about North Korea’s r

North Korea July 9, 2020